I. Could the Media Be Trusted? Now & Then

Chapter Twelve Outline

During his first year as president, Barack Obama was determined to achieve legislative success on a subject that had proved elusive to so many of his predecessors: comprehensive health care reform. In earlier battles, the American Medical Association and other opponents capitalized upon public fears that the legislation might separate individuals from their own doctors; many citizens had been overwhelmed by media campaigns that monopolized the airways with negative aspects of the legislation. The Obama administration’s efforts to pass health care would not be so hindered, thanks to the Internet, which delivers virtually unlimited amounts of information to the vast majority of American homes. The Obama administration took advantage of the Internet to sell its plan to the far left as well as the far right. Had the public not been privy to the immense amounts of information pouring forth from the Internet, the arguments against the administration’s plan might once again have proved too difficult to overcome. Health care reform was not the only proposed change to benefit from a new medium that reached millions. Several presidents had tried and failed to pass civil rights laws. Kennedy’s ambitious civil rights agenda might have met a similar fate had the plight of African Americans in the South not been seen by the rest of the nation through extensive and unprecedented television coverage. Footage from television cameras allowed viewers at home to witness police officials directing full pressure water hoses on African American school children, police dogs set loose on civil rights demonstrators, and numerous brutal beatings. Donations to the civil rights movement increased dramatically once the public outside the South became an eyewitness to these dramatic events, and legislative leaders from both parties soon felt public pressure to overcome the objections of opponents. On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. Clearly the “small screen” had played a large role in the process.

Over the years, the American political system has seen its share of inaccurate coverage and questionable ethics in reporting. Today, Americans are surrounded by media—by some reports spending almost 40 percent of all hours involved with media. The media act not only as sources of information about political leaders and candidates, elections, and sweeping social events, but also as providers of commentary, opinion, and investigation in order to keep government accountable.

II. The Media in American Politics

News media organizations are private companies that aim to make profits. But unlike other businesses, they are granted special constitutional protection through the First Amendment and its provision for freedom of the press. The 1735 trial of newspaper printer Peter Zenger established the legal precedent that if a newspaper prints the truth it cannot be held as libelous. Freedom of the press has shaped American history through the concept of the “free marketplace of ideas,” which says that allowing people to communicate freely creates a diverse range of opinions and perspectives to consider.

A. Government Regulation of the Media 1. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was created in 1934 to regulate the electronic media (radio and television) by licensing and creating rules for broadcasters. It has no authority over print media, and in fact any regulation of print media is rare.

2. The FCC may revoke licenses or fine stations for violating rules. Backed by the U.S. Supreme Court, it has the power to decide what is considered indecent on the airwaves.

3. The FCC’s equal time rule demands that radio and TV stations sell equal amounts of airtime to all political candidates who want to broadcast ads— including airtime used by the president.

4. In 1950, the FCC’s “fairness doctrine” required broadcasters to allow time for public affairs programming, but the growth of news sources and electronic technologies during the 1980s put an end to these requirements. Technological shifts also led to the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which deregulated cable TV providers, eliminated telephone monopolies, and allowed local phone companies to provide long-distance services. This shifted the FCC’s role from regulating to facilitating competition.

B. Functions of the Media in American Politics

Three principal functions of the media are as follows:

1. Providing objective coverage of events: The role of media organizations is to monitor and communicate events in the nation and around the world. Free of government control, news organizations can provide coverage with objectivity—the reporting of events accurately and fairly. Cable news networks and Internet news sites have broadened coverage to include historical context, analysis, and up-to-the-minute events.

2. Facilitating public debate: Media organizations go beyond reporting news when they facilitate public dialogue and debate on key political concerns. This includes framing issues, offering perspectives, and providing differing viewpoints through newspaper editorial pages, magazine commentary sections, or radio’s public forums.

3. Serving as government watchdog: The media are sometimes collectively called the fourth branch of government or the “fourth estate” as they investigate corruption and abuses of power. In the 1800s, “muckrakers” investigated business and political life, including corporate contributions to political campaigns. In the 1970s, the Washington Post’s investigative reporters investigated government corruption related to the Watergate break- in, which led to the resignation of President Nixon. Investigative television shows, Internet sites, magazine exposes, and books also act as government watchdogs.

III. Historical Development of the Media

In colonial days the news media were made up of printers who published newspapers as well as documents, pamphlets, and religious books. The American Revolution changed the nature of newspapers as colonists became interested in battles, economics, and resulting political parties.

A. The Era of the Partisan Press

The era of the partisan press—a period characterized by newspapers that supported a particular political party—lasted from 1789 through the mid-1850s as the Federalists battled the Anti-Federalists over central government versus states’ rights. By the 1850s, newspapers began to distance themselves from partisan positions in order to draw more readers, and by the end of the century they tended to be more focused on objective reporting. In the early 1900s, mass distribution was made available by the invention of the rotary press and telegraph as well as the expansion of the railroad system. The result was lower production costs and affordable newspapers—thus the term “penny press.”

B. The Emergence of Electronic Media

The invention of radio in the early twentieth century allowed political leaders instantaneous and direct communication with citizens. In 1926, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) provided the first network of radio stations to a mass audience. In the 1930s, President Roosevelt used the radio to deliver inspiring messages during his “fireside chats” to a nation suffering through the Great Depression. During WWII, Edward R. Murrow delivered live reports from London, and in the 1950s Joe Pyne hosted the first political talk show on radio.

Television was quickly adopted after WWII, when the cost of a set declined. NBC and CBS developed the fifteen-minute format for the first evening news programs. Live coverage of events such as the McCarthy hearings and political conventions came next.

1. Presidential debates and the power of television: The power of electronic media was first demonstrated in the live TV broadcast of the 1960 debates between presidential candidates Richard Nixon and John Kennedy. The broadcast ultimately favored Kennedy as he projected a self-assured and healthy image, while Nixon appeared nervous and unprepared. Research showed radio listeners thought Nixon won, while TV watchers felt Kennedy won, demonstrating that the medium can influence the message. Live TV debates of presidential candidates were avoided until the 1976 Carter-Ford debate, and they continue today. Over the years, television has transformed just about every area of political campaigns and government policymaking. Presidential press conferences: For centuries, presidential access was granted only to favored reporters via appointment. President Eisenhower was the first to hold regular news conferences to appeal for public support of his policies by answering unscripted questions. President Kennedy held live televised news conferences, and so did President Johnson until the Vietnam years. Press conferences became infrequent, and weekly radio addresses, initiated by Ronald Reagan, have been used by every president since. Bill Clinton invited press conferences for a while, but pulled back during political crises. George W. Bush averaged only one press conference per year during his first term. With each administration, White House staffs have become better equipped to use television, staged events, and carefully worded speeches to communicate with the public.

IV. The Mass Media Today

Many varieties of print and electronic formats make up mass media today. Information provided may be classified as either news or entertainment, though there is some blurring of that line.

A. The Print Media

Print media—including newspapers, magazines, and books—has seen a decline in readership in recent years as customers turned to electronic media for their news. Well-known magazines and select books still get the public attention, however. About 76 million readers purchase the 1,500 newspapers published daily, down from 2,200 dailies a century ago. Most newspapers today are regional metropolitan or suburban publications. Many—along with radio and TV stations—purchase news from a wire service, such as the Associated Press, which is by far the largest.

B. The Electronic Media

Electronic media—including television, radio, and the Internet—have changed the ways in which Americans receive, interpret, and use the news. The new media (the Internet, satellites, cable TV, as well as DVDs, fax machines, and cell phones) continue to revolutionize the news business on all levels.

1. Television: After the mass acceptance of television in the 1950s—at last count, more than 98 percent of American households had TV—it became, and has remained, the main news source for most Americans. Its strengths are in the visual image and the immediacy of the communication. Video images such as those of the Vietnam War, Iraqi insurgents, and Abu Ghraib detainees have captured attention and changed public opinion. Satellite technologies now provide live feed beyond the globe, from the outer reaches of the known universe. 2. Radio: Most radio today involves commercial music programming with brief sports, traffic, and weather updates as well as short news reports, which are important sources of information to listeners. By the 1980s, talk radio gained in popularity with its emphasis on opinionated hosts who give commentary and listeners who call in.

3. The Internet: MOSAIC (which evolved into Netscape) was the first graphical Internet browser (1993) that allowed users to view images from the World Wide Web, attracting tens of millions of users within a few years. Skyrocketing PC sales and user-friendly technology have allowed the Internet to become an easy—and global—news source, one that profoundly influences the American political system. It is not a “passive” medium—it is built on interactive searches, personal communications, and the ability to copy and publish material worldwide through personal websites. It allows news to flow in unprecedented ways—chat rooms provide online forums, blogs (web logs) allow for personal observations, and newspaper and TV station websites feature news content as well as searchable databases of archived articles. Not all Americans have Internet access, and about the 65 percent who report using a computer regularly are likely to be younger, middle- or upper-class, better educated, and nonminority, thus creating a “digital divide” between classes. But lower costs, skilled young people, and library access are beginning to reduce this divide.

C. Ownership of the Media

1. Private ownership of the media allows for the free and open exchange of ideas, a right provided by the Constitution. Today the concentration of large corporate conglomerates that own news organizations has led to concerns about who has power, how objective the dissemination of news can be, and where the line between news and entertainment should be drawn.

2. The three big television networks dominating TV viewership since the 1950s —ABC, CBS, and NBC— have since the 1980s faced shrinking markets and new vertically integrated corporate structures as cable television stations and the Fox Network have cut into their audiences.

3. Not all media groups are privately owned. The Public Broadcasting Act (1967) created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which distributes federal funds to support public, non-commercial broadcasting. The law provided much-needed support for non-commercial TV and radio. CPB funds the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), formed in 1969 to distribute TV programming, as well as National Public Radio (NPR), American Public Media, and Public Radio International (PRI) to distribute radio programming. These stations have little or no commercial advertising, relying on CPB funds and donations. Federal support can lead to political controversy, as some argue for more diversity, less liberalism, or more educational programming.

V. The Effects of the Media

The viewership and use of media have been researched for years, but it is difficult to gauge the impact of media exposure on opinions and behaviors. Though it is tough to prove, many—including political leaders and candidates—believe in the power of media. The following theories offer perspectives on the effects of media:

A. Minimal Effects Theory

Minimal effects theory says that media have little or no effect on individual opinion or action, such as voting behavior, but that party identification and long-held beliefs have a much greater influence. These enduring and pre-existing attitudes lead to the following:

1. Selective perception: the tendency to evaluate news material from one’s own partisan perspective

2. Selective retention: the tendency to process and remember the material more consistent with one’s pre-existing attitudes

3. Selective exposure: the tendency to pay attention to certain kinds of news, often influenced by pre-existing attitudes

B. Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory says that viewers imitate what they view on television through observational learning, that they may become more violent and reduce their moral standards, and that they may learn negative or anti-social behaviors from TV. Priming refers to activation of one thought as it also activates other thoughts, so exposure to media can jump-start this chain reaction of thoughts. Acceptance of these types of theories has resulted in government controls such as the Telecommunications Act (1996), which required V-chips in TV sets so parents could block unwanted programming, and a 1997 law requiring that the TV industry develop a ratings system.

C. Cultivation Theory

Cultivation theory says that heavy TV exposure helps to develop an individual’s overall view of the world, and that an emphasis on violence and crime in both news and entertainment broadcasts causes viewers to overestimate or become overly concerned with these issues.

D. Agenda Setting Theory Agenda setting theory says that even though the effects of exposure may be minimal or hard to measure, the media set the public agenda to identify key issues, and are influential in telling the public what to think about and talk about. In this way, the news media have a powerful influence on public debate.

VI. Criticisms of the News Media

A. Today’s news media are criticized based on a number of popular arguments:

1. Sameness: Most news programming follows a standard format that makes it appear the same as all other programming. For example, a small number of companies that own large numbers of newspapers use one standard format for news.

2. Power in the hands of few: Only a few companies own many of the nation’s radio stations and TV stations. This concentration can result in a handful of companies promoting their own political objectives.

3. Focus on profits: Media organizations, like other privately owned companies, are in business to make money. To make profits they need larger audiences, and they may avoid high quality news programming in favor of entertainment to get those numbers.

4. Sensationalism: News that is characterized by sensational story lines involving crime, violence, disasters, personal conflicts, or scandals is increasingly featured. This attracts more readers and larger audiences than would thought-provoking articles on political or social topics.

5. Uneven election coverage: In the coverage of political candidates, the media emphasize character issues and personal background rather than viewpoints and political stands. The media also place too much emphasis on polls.

6. Political bias: Corporate owners of media organizations are more conservative than the population as a whole, which is reflected in their news. Another argument says that reporters tend to be more liberal than the average person, and they allow this viewpoint to seep into their stories. However, the issue as to whether personal bias is reflected in news stories is unclear and difficult to prove.

B. Despite these criticisms, Americans continue to rely on the news media for information from around the nation and the world.

VII. Now & Then: Making the Connection The media provide an infrastructure which leaders use to communicate with citizens. In the examples used at the outset of this chapter, we saw how Presidents Johnson and Obama took advantage of relatively new media (television and the Internet, respectively) to successfully win long-term political struggles to pass civil rights and health care reform legislation.

Technological innovations have served to change the forms and nature of the media throughout the course of American history. These changes have opened up new opportunities for presidents and other leaders to help shape a political agenda and successfully bring an important policy idea to fruition and have had the effect of bringing news and information to audiences with more and more speed and efficiency.

The American media remain as important a political institution as any in our system of government. Americans’ use of the media, the demand for information, the appetite of journalists to keep tabs on government performance, and political leaders’ reliance on the media to communicate with citizens all serve to make the media stronger today than they have ever been.

VIII. Chapter Summary

The Media in American Politics

A. In providing the free flow of information to the public, the media serve several functions: providing objective coverage of events, facilitating public debate, and acting as government watchdog.

B. In 1934, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began to regulate electronic media by licensing and monitoring broadcasters. It has no authority over print media organizations, which publish free of government regulation.

Historical Development of the Media A. Through the 1850s, news was delivered by a partisan press that favored certain political parties, but since then news reporting has focused on objectivity.

B. Technological advances including expanded railroad systems and the invention of the rotary press, radio, and television have led to a mass audience that receives news almost instantaneously.

The Mass Media Today A. Politics and political events such as presidential campaigns, debates, and news conferences are widely covered by media organizations.

B. Today’s mass media include radio, television, books, newspapers, and magazines— and the “new media” includes the Internet, satellites, cell phones, broadband, and ever-changing technologies. C. Widespread corporate ownership has been criticized for stifling diversity in news content and blurring the line between news and entertainment.

D. The three dominant TV networks of the 1950s—ABC, CBS, and NBC—have faced competition from the FOX network, cable and satellite TV in recent decades.

E. Non-commercial broadcasting was born due to the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. It created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds public radio (NPR) and television stations (PBS).

The Effects of the Media

A. A number of theories on the effects of media exposure—including minimal effects, social learning, cultivation, and agenda setting—seek to explain its impact on individuals’ thoughts and beliefs.

Criticisms of the News Media

A. Media performance is often the subject of criticism. Some of the major sources of discontent with media performance include the concentration of corporate ownership of media outlets, sensationalized coverage of relatively unimportant events, and ideological bias in news reporting.

Discussion Questions

1. How many hours per year does the “average person” spend with all forms of media? What percentage of all available hours does this involve? How might this change in years to come?

2. How did Peter Zenger’s trial set a precedent in American news reporting? What is the “free marketplace of ideas”? Give several examples of the ways in which this free marketplace operates in America today.

3. How does the government regulate the electronic media? The print media? Explain the reasons for the different treatment of these two categories. How is the Internet regulated? What regulation might occur in the future, as the Internet expands and becomes even more sophisticated?

4. What are the three main functions of the media? Identify and describe each briefly. How are these three roles related? Why is the “watchdog” role particularly important? What kind of government would the U.S. have if this watchdog aspect did not exist?

5. What is meant by the “partisan press”? How does it differ from today’s organizations, which focus on “objectivity”? Are there still examples of the partisan press in today’s media? 6. How have radio and television news affected newsgathering in general? What was learned about electronic media during the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debates? Since then, how have presidents and presidential candidates handled debates, press conferences, and other communications with the public?

7. Name the various forms of print and electronic media, as well as those that fall under the category of “new media.” How do they differ? How are they similar? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

8. Name three ways in which the Internet has affected the methods by which we perceive and receive “the news.” What is the “digital divide?” What factors have led to its creation? What factors may affect it in the future?

9. How has corporate ownership of media organizations affected the “look” of the news as well as its content? What trends have been seen in news gathering and reporting in general, based on a growing corporate power behind the news?

10. What are four theories of media exposure? How do they differ regarding their views of the media’s impact on our thoughts and beliefs? How have certain theories led to government action in the form of legislation or regulation?